Building on our Foundation

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Building on our Foundation

In 2004, the Department of Health and Social Services and the eight authorities moved to an Integrated Service Delivery Model (ISDM), a team-based, client-focused approach to providing health and social services. Over time, we have increased our use of nurse practitioners, midwives, and mental health workers as well as enhanced services, such as public health rehabilitation services, and family counseling. The ISDM was developed to ensure that people across the NWT had better and more equal access to services, and that Health and Social Services Authorities had more consistent policies, procedures, and standards.

Integration and collaboration are the heart of ISDM. To integrate means to bring parts together into a whole. Health and social service care becomes a single, seamless service. To collaborate means caregivers working together, but maintaining their distinct, independent practices.

The ISDM combines 3 key elements:

Building on our Foundation (2011) continues to work within this model as the most sustainable system to provide northerners with access to quality health and social services programs and services. We believe this approach will reduce some of the challenges we now experience in our health and social services system such as:

People across the NWT will have better services and more equal access to services.

All Health and Social Services Authorities will have more consistent policies and procedures, and meet standards for core services.

The Department and other agencies will be more consistent, fair, and transparent when they distribute and account for funding and other resources.